Aura: Shinobi
by Russ Spruce
Summary: Sequel to Aura.  Six years has passed and a new hokage has been selected, but will the presence of a newcomer cause more chaos that the village can handle.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello again, and welcome to the next saga in Aura's life, __**Aura: Shinobi**__. Shinobi, takes place about six years after __**Aura**__ ends and this one will focus on Naruto, Aura, and a newcomer who has a great power and a terrible burden. Now I hope you enjoy the story!_

The streets were crowded with cheering people as they surrounded the hokage tower. Today was the day that Tsunade was to select her successor as the sixth hokage. She and the council members stood on the balcony observing the crowd, awaiting the announcement of the next leader of their village. Tsunade looked over to her former apprentice, Sakura, a nervous look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Asked the pink-haired shinobi, worried about how her teacher was nervous about handing the responsibility of hokage to another that has deserved it more than anyone else.

"I don't know…I mean, I know he'll do a good job, it's just I don't know if he can handle this responsibility while also raising a daughter." Said the hokage, biting her lower lip. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Two Kunoichi were jumping from rooftop to rooftop, trying to get to the tower as fast they could. One of the ninja had long flowing blond hair, cream-colored skin and lavender eyes. She wore loose fitting blue pants and an orange and black jacket that seemed to have been a hand-me-down that gave her a distinct tomboy look. The other kunoichi on the other hand had a more feminine look with jet-black hair, tanned skin and ruby eyes. She wore a tight-fitting dress with a loose skirt that goes down to her mid-thigh and her legs wrapped in bandages.

"We're going to be late!" Shouted the red-eyed nine as the two bounded from one infrastructure to infrastructure in order to get where they need to go.

"Stop worrying Ai, we're already here." Said the blond, landing on the balcony along with her friend. "Besides, it's not like anyone noticed that we're-"  
"AURA! AI!" Both girls cringed at the shouts of none other than Kurenai Yuhi, dressed in formal robes. "Do you two have any idea what time it is?" Lectured the jonin.

"Aw, mom! We were going to be on time but Aura-"

"Ahah, no butts. You two go and get dress. The ceremony is going to start in a few minutes." Both shinobi hung their heads low and began to follow the jonin to the wardrobe.

"Oh, how's my dad doing?" asked Aura as she slummed her way to the dress area. "He's probably a nervous wreck by now." Kurenai shook her head.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure he's just fine."

"I can't do this!" Shouted Naruto, pacing back and forth in a panicked manner. Sakura, who was wearing a white formal gown and had her pink hair up in a bun, was trying to relax her former teammate.

"Hey, hey, hey…" said the kunoichi, grabbing hold of him and rubbing the side of his arms I an effort to relax him. Apparently it succeeded since the blonds breathing began to slow down and his muscles began to loosen. "You have to relax or else the village won't think that you will be at your best." He couldn't help to give a small smile.

"Well c'mon, I know that I am the guy for the job. And I promise to keep my responsibilities." Sakura now couldn't help but give a smirk at this comment. At that moment the two heard footsteps heading towards them and immediately broke apart. Around the corner came Aura, her tomboy look replaced by a fashion that was nearly identical to Sakura's.

"Hey daddy, nervous?" she asked with a hint of taunt in her voice.

"Not with my lucky charm nearby!" said the blue-eyed nin, walking towards and embracing his daughter. "By the way, why do I have to get all dressed up for this if my regular clothes? At least give me a little more dignity." Said Aura, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face. Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Ino walked in the room at that moment, her face full of anticipation and panic.  
"Hurry up, Naruto. The ceremony is about to start."  
"Oh, right!' Said Naruto. "Wish me luck." He said, kissing Aura on her forehead and walking out of the room.

A few minutes later, Tsunade was on the main balcony, announcing to the crowd who the next leader of the village would be.

"Hello everyone!" she bellowed to the audience. "It is time for me to announce the new leader of Konoha." A shadowed figure began to emerge from behind and began to make their way to the light. "Now may I present your new hokage…" the figure fully emerged into the light "Naruto Uzumaki!"

The crowd erupted as Naruto approached the edge of the balcony, fully dressed in the traditional robes of the hokage. He knelled down in front of Tsunade as she places upon his head the traditional headdress that all the previous kage wore before him. He stood up and presented himself to the crowd, a smile a mile wide on his whiskered face.

A few hours later, the party at the Uzumaki home was already in full swing and friends from the academy to the field rejoiced in such a momentous event. Aura and Ai were already trying to find a way to escape the party and just managed to break away from a conversation with Choji about the importance of barbeque pork.

"Man, who knew that there were so many good things about pork!" Said Ai as she followed the blonde's lead.

"Only in his mind Ai, my dad says that Choji always thinks with his stomach before his head." Said Aura in a sly tone.

"But isn't that why he's one of the top jonin in the village then?" Aura couldn't help but give a sigh, her friend was right. Everyone her father worked with when he was a genin have become famous not only in Konoha, but the entire land. Both girls managed to make it upstairs where they managed to change out of their dress robes and into their usual wardrobe.

"So why are we leaving, weren't we having fun at the party?" asked the ruby-eyed girl, confused at her friend's choice.

"Yeah, I was, but I just want to go about and…" the lavender-eyed girl paused for a moment when she heard some laughing coming form one of the rooms down the hall.

"What was that?" Aura shrugged.

"Beats me, I guess one of my dad's friends decided to have a little fun." Soon a smile crept on her face. "Let's see who it is!" Ai's eyes grew wide when she heard that statement.

"What? No way, I'm no pervert like that toad sage."

"Relax, I'm just sayin' that there is a good chance that one of the shinobi here is going to become our sensei, and if we catch them in the act do you know how much easier it can be to blackmail them from time to time." Ai still wore a grim expression as the pair tiptoed to the room where the commotion was coming from.

"I still don't know…" the blond gave a heavy, but quiet sigh.

"C'mon what's the worse case-" She was cut of by the sound of a husky, female voice.

"Oh Naruto." Both girls stopped, looked at each other and then began to focus on the couple behind the door. Aura activated her byakugan and set it so she could see through the wall. There she saw her father, no longer in his formal robes but in more casual clothing which consisted of loose orange sweatpants and a black t-shirt sitting on a bed with a woman. The female companion had one a red top with a mid-length skirt and had her pink hair down. "Are you sure this is okay? Isn't someone going to notice us being gone?" Naruto gave a small chuckle.

"C'mon Sakura, noone will be able to tell the difference between the shadow clones and us." He began to lean forward for a kiss, but stopped when he noticed Sakura's diverted gaze. "What's wrong?" The green-eyed shinobi gave a heavy sigh.

"It's just…I don't know if I can-" the blond placed a finger onto her lips.

"Hey, hey, hey, I love you and Aura too. I know this has been stressful for keeping our relationship secret from her, but I know that once we tell her she will understand." He once again leaned in for a kiss. Outside Aura was standing there, not believing what she was seeing. All she could think of was how her dad, her own father, betray her mother for someone else. She got up a little too quickly, causing the floorboards beneath her to squeak. The hokage immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at the where the sound originated from.

"Oh no…" he immediately knew who it was that was outside the door. He quickly got up and quickly opened the door. There he saw Ai, standing there with a surprised look on her face, he turned his head to see the outline of his daughter jumping out of the window, most likely to get away from what she witnessed. "Aura!" shouted Naruto, running to the window to see the lavender-eyed girl bounding from roof to roof to get away from the shame. Even though she was hundreds of yards away, he could tell that she was crying.

**AN:** _Wow, what an exciting first chapter to __Aura: Shinobi.__ Now I know that after this I am going to probably get a few flames for creating a Naruto/Sakura pairing where everything was just fine. Well as I said before, I like to write about things that are different. Next chapter, a newcomer appears with a unique ability. Is he friend or foe? You'll just have to wait till the next chapter. You know the deal, Read & Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys. Yeah…I see that some don't like the idea of me pairing up Naruto and Sakura. Now I am stating, for the record, I am a NaruHina fan. It's just that I am a realist and a lot of the stories I read seem to have Naruto and Hinata in very unusual situations that would never happen to them. For this story it just seemed to make sense that Naruto and Sakura would be drawn together in this story. Now I know that a lot of the fans of the first story didn't like the change of direction, but I feel like this is what would happen if the characters were put into this situation. And so I will continue to write this story and make sure that it is the best that it can be. Now onto the next chapter: Intruder._

Aura was jumping quickly from building to building, tears streaming from her eyes as she tried to get away from the scene she had witnessed. She was thinking of how her father had humiliated him and herself. _How could he do it! And on the day he became Hokage I can't believe him!_

A few hundred yards away, a figure bounded over the village wall and landed on all fours. The shadowed person slowly emerged into moonlight, revealing that this figure had on tattered clothing and hidden his face with a cloth that only showed his blue eyes.

"Finally got in here, now just need to-" WHAM! Before she managed to finish his sentence, someone ran into him with a great amount of force. The shrouded figured got up and looked at the person who ran into him; a young girl whom seemed to be dressed like a boy. He got up and began to shout at her. "Hey what's the big…idea?" He faltered when he looked into her eyes, how they seemed to dazzle in the starry sky. "Oh wow." He commented.

Just then, Naruto jumped down, not seeing the intruder of the village and instead approaching her daughter.

"Aura, stop for a sec and let me explain." She turned and walked away a few steps, anger still boiling under the surface.

"Yeah right, I would love to hear how you betrayed mom for that pink-haired-"

"Don't you talk about Sakura like that, she has been like a mother to you since you've been born. She wants to be a part of this family and so do I, she has her best interests…in…mind?" It was then that the hokage noticed the intruder, standing there dumbfound and confused at the situation that he was witnessing. "Wait a minute…" he pointed a finger at the stranger. "Who are you?" A pair of blue eyes blinked is disbelief as the figure began to spoke.

"Oh, ahhhh…" he faltered. "Gottagobye!" He said in a flurry and ran of with a great deal of speed, leaving both nin coughing in the cloud of dust that was left behind. As the cloud faded, Aura looked up and saw her father wear a serious look that she knew meant that there was trouble.

"We'll continue this conversation later." He said, pulling out a kunai knife and attaching a spark tag to it and threw it into the air, sending red sparks flying through the sky.

Back at the party, all of the shinobi immediately saw the crimson lights fill the sky, signaling that there was someone in the village that was suppose to be there. The nin immediately jumped into action and began to look for the intruder. The two shadow clones of Naruto and Sakura dissipated in a puff of smoke. Sakura looked out the window and saw the flashes; she knew that a storm has begun brewing in the distance.

The cloaked figure was blazing down the streets of the village, shouting curses to himself as to the situation he has gotten himself into. "Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap, how did I get myself into this mess!" It was up ahead that Kiba, Shino and Akamaru appeared and ready to stop him. Kiba and Akamaru were ready for an assault and a cloud of insects were swarming from beneath Shino's robes.

"Alright you, stop-" shouted Kiba, but his valiant effort was drowned out by the massive rush that it caused a backlash and forced to cloud of insects to splatter the group, covering them in green splotches. Kiba felt sick, he turned around to see the intruder heading straight into a wall where the road ends, but at the last second pulls out a kunai knife and plunges it into the ground, helping him make a sharp turn to the left. The dog nin gawked at what he witnessed as Shino silently cried over his lost bugs. "No way…there is now way he is that powerful."

The intruder continued to run, hoping that he wouldn't encounter anymore shinobi. But as he turned the corner, he came across a giant Choji, several stories high and getting ready to stop the intruder with a mighty stomp. As the foot came down, the invader took out several kunai knives and thrusted them into the sole of the foot, causing the giant to scream in agony and topple over, causing the earth to tremble. As the dust cleared, the cloaked figure looked around in desperation to see if there were anymore nin in sight. After a minute or so, he gave a sigh of relief, happy that he wouldn't fight anymore.

"I wouldn't be relaxing right now if I were you." The blue-eyed nin gave a slight yelp and slowly turned around to confront Shikamaru and Ino, both ready for combat.

"Aw c'mon, can't you guys cut me a little slack?" He pleaded. The shadow master shook his head.

"Sorry man, I gotta do what I gotta do, even if it's such a drag." Shikamaru began making hand signs. "Shadow-"

"AHHHH!" Shikamaru faltered for a moment as the invader shouted and threw several shuriken into the air. The jonin faltered for a moment, but resumed his assault. It was just as the tendrils were forming and making their way to him that the shuriken hit the ground all around the group, but came nowhere near of harming any of them. It was a few seconds later that Shikamaru realized that there were spark tags attached to the shuriken, and that they were about to go off. BOOM! A powerful, bright light filled the alleyway, dissolving the shadows and neutralizing Shikamaru's attack. It was just as he was regaining his sight that he saw a fuzzy outline quickly approaching him. WHAM! The cloaked nin kicked the jonin in the jaw, sending flying in the air and landing hard on the earth. Ino began to see again just as the assailant was leaving. There was one move she could think of at that moment, and she knew that it was a risky one but if it worked, she could bring this criminal to the Hokage and prevent any more trouble. She made a triangle with her hands and began to gather chakra. The stranger sensed the building of energy behind him and turned around, just in time to see the blond launce her attack.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" The cloaked nin braced himself, as if ready for the worse and held his hands out, as if catching a ball. Chakra surged through his arms and he blasted a transparent energy orb to the nearest conscience, sentient being in the area. After the deed was done, he turned away and ran as fast as he could, already knowing what was going to happen. Shikamaru finally came to, having a throbbing headache, but otherwise all right. It was when he heard an odd squealing sound that he looked and saw Ino's body, limp and loose. But it was not her body that caught his attention, but the pig next to it, clapping it's hooves together as if trying to make a hand sign. It was then he realized what happened, and all he could do was smile and laugh.

"Guy's smarter that I thought."

A few blocks away, the intruder finally slowed down to catch his breathe. It was then that Tenten appeared, her scroll at had and ready to summon her weapons at a moments notice.

"Why won't you guys just let me be, huh? What did I ever do to you!' He knew it was a mistake to say those words because just then, the kunoichi's eyes began to burn with fire.

"I'll tell you what you did to me; I was suppose to tell my son a bedtime story, the first one in three month until you showed up!" He did not like the tone of her voice, full of frustration and anger. The brunette summoned a barrage of bladed weapons and hurled them towards her foe. He screamed and attempted to shield himself as the blades began crashing into the earth, stirring up clouds of dust. Tenten Jumped down to ground level to see if any of her weapons hit her mark. "I hope I didn't hurt him too badly…" she said quietly. It was just as the dust settled that she gasped, afraid to move in any direction. Not only did her attack fail, but the enemy used a shadow attack that echoed Shikamaru's to catch the blades. He threw his arms forward in a throwing motion, setting off the jutsu to follow suit. Tenten in vain raised her arms and closed her eyes, in hope that she would survive the attack. She heard loud thumping noises from all around her, but that was all. After a few moments she opened her eyes and saw her opponent running away. The kunoichi turned as saw dozens of blades imbedded into the wall. When she took a few steps out and looked again, she was amazed to see that he made it so the blades hit everything but her, forming an outline of her into the wall. It was then she knew that this intruder was not going to harm anyone, so that left one question in her mind…if he wasn't here to start a fight, then why is he here?

The shinobi was running down the road at full speed, looking frantically in hope that he wouldn't encounter another shinobi.

"Aw man, how did I ever get into this mess? I thought this village would be okay but this pla-" WHAM! Out from the shadows, Aura appeared and kicked the nin into an empty stand. When he regained his footing, he looked at her with confused eyes from underneath his cloth mask. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy or something?" The blond gave a cruel smile.

"Crazy? No. Angry? Yeah, I am, and you're the perfect punching bag!" She charged her opponent in full fury and ready to take him down, but whit every blinding punch and kick she tried to hit him with, he dodged effortlessly and with what she could tell was a smile on his cloaked face.

"You know, as much as I love to have a workout with a babe like yourself, I feel that I should get going."

"Oh, and why is that?" replied Aura, throwing a punch but missed, causing him to disappear. She quickly turned around to find that he was behind her and placed a hand under her chin, as if to examine her lavender eyes.

"I have to have a word with the Kage here, but if that doesn't work out, you and I could probably go and do something." She put on a sour look and attempted to hit him once more, but he managed to get out of her range. She looked up at her assailant's face, even though she hasn't seen it, she already despised it as much as her father's relationship. "C'mon, is that the best you've got? Wow and I thought this place was suppose to be tough-" BAM! He was sucker-punched from the side that sent him flying and tumbling until he settled into a groaning heap on the ground. The genin looked back to see Sakura step out from the shadows, a concerned look on her face.

"Aura, are you okay, honey?" she asked offering her hand in reassurance. The blonde knocked it away, not wanting to talk with the woman that was fooling around with her father.

"I'm fine..." she grumbled as the rest of the shinobi began to arrive, including Naruto. "...And don't call me 'honey'." Sakura was slightly taken aback by this, but also expected it at the same time. It was then that she noticed Shikamaru with Ino strapped to his back and a pig in his arms. It was then she realized what happened and began to laugh uncontrollably, prompting the Ino-pig to shoot her a glaring look. She looked around to see other shinobi in similar situations; Kiba and Akamaru were trying there best to clean the dead bugs from their bodies as Shino continues to silently weep for his lost comrades, Choji was hopping on one foot, which appeared to be bleeding and Tenten who looked a little shaken up, but otherwise alright. Neji walked over to the K.O.'d victim and picked him up and began to unwrap his face. When he was finished, everyone looked and gasped, even causing Aura to whisper quietly.

"Oh wow…" Under the cloth there was the face of a young and hansom boy, somewhere around the age of 12 or 13 and with dark brown hair. One of the most distinguishing features was an odd tattoo that appeared as navy blue triangles that on each side of his chin, emphasizing his jaw. Everyone was silent for a moment; it was Kiba who broke the silence.

"We were all schooled by a kid?!" he shouted, rage burning in his eyes. "All of that trouble from a rugrat!" The one-eyed shinobi looked more closely at the boy, pretty sure there was more to him than meets the eye. It wasn't until he activated his Byakugan that he discovered the secret to this ninja's talent.

"Lord Hokage," shouted Neji as Aura crept closer to examine the unconscious boy. "There is something about this boy that you need to know about immediately." Naruto nodded.

"Alright, but first, make sure he's out and take him to one of the chambers in my office."

"How do you know he's not already out?" commented Choji, still hopping up and down on one foot. It was then that the boy began to stir and opened his blue eyes, his gaze meeting Aura's lavender orbs. He gave a sheepish smiled and chuckled.

"You're cute." Aura blushed, not sure how to respond to this comment, she did what she always did in a situation like this. She slapped him with enough force to knock him out indefinitely. All were silent until Choji commented once more.

"Well…I guess that did it."

_That was an interesting chapter. A new character has arrived and has displayed abilities that have rivaled the jonin in Konoha. What is it that makes him a threat to the village? Is he a threat to the village, or to a young genin's heart. Stick around to find out more. Next chapter: Teammates. Read and Review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys, guess whose back! Yes I know it has been a long time, but what can I say, school sucks. Anyway, here is the next chapter: Inquisition. Enjoy!_

The boy slowly opened his eyes, the room beginning to come into focus. He was suddenly jerked away by a sharp pain on his jaw. He rubbed it as he studied his surroundings. He was in a rather small room with a single exit and a mirror that stretched from wall to wall.

"Hey, did you have a nice nap?" The boy quickly turned his head to the source of the voice to find a woman with pink hair tied into a ponytail. He felt dread build up in his stomach when he realized that it was the same woman who kicked him.

"Wh-What do you want?" He stuttered, afraid of what other powers this person may be hiding. Sakura picked up on the young shinobi's fear and quickly set to calm him down.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you again. I just want to know who you are, and why you're here. Is that okay?" The boy nodded his head cautiously, keeping his guard up just in case. "So, what's your name?"

"…Deux…" he said in a nearly inaudible tone. Sakura couldn't help but smile, glad that he was coming to.

"Deux, huh. That a very unique name; I really like it." Deux's face turned bright red, not expecting the words to have such an effect on him. "So, what brings you to Konaha?"

"I want to become a member of the Leaf Shinobi." He replied, the volume of his voice much louder than last time, causing Sakura to be caught off guard.

"So what is this kid?" Asked Ino, rubbing her hands in a fervor to forget about her previous host body. She and all the shinobi involved in the ambush were in the observation room, listening onto Sakura and the young nin's conversation.

"From what I saw with my Byakugan, I can't really explain it."

"So, try your best to describe it." Stated Shikomaru, leaning against the wall while eyeing the intruder.

"The best way I could describe him is, despite there being one person, there are two." Everyone was silent for a moment, unsure if Neji said was the truth or if he was suffering from some concussion that altered his perception of the boy.

"Care to elaborate?" asked Naruto, his tone having a hint of curiosity.

"From what I saw, his body consists of at least two chakra networks in his body, possibly a third one primarily in his chest. These systems seem to overlap in his hand, feet, chest and head, giving him some advantage when it comes to Ninjutsu and Taijutsu but some difficulty when it comes to Genjutsu."

"Why Genjutsu?" Shino seemed to emanate some dark aura that notified everyone in the room of his disproval.

"Genjutsu must flow freely and smoothly from the body. There must be no hindrance if one wishes to create a believable illusion." Neji nodded in approval of the bug master's words.

"And since this boy seems to have multiple chakra systems, and each one is possibly a different type with altering frequencies, probably the best he can do is create a thin fog."

Sakura turned her attention away from the convention for a moment to look at the boy thru the two-way mirror. He was standing in front of the shining shield, examining the black eye he received from Aura and making a wide arrangement of contorted faces, completely oblivious of the company on the other side.

_He's just like Naruto…_ she thought with a smile as she continued to look at the young shinobi's antics. It was then a chilling thought came to mind about how this Deux would be handled. "What's going to happen to him?" Everyone fell silent upon these words. "He obviously isn't normal, but he is still a living person who should be given a home. What do you think?" The room was silent for the moment, each of the shinobi contemplating over the question. Sakura looked over at Naruto and found him with his forehead strained and pondering deeply about the situation.

"I believe we should end him." Everyone looked at Neji, who seemed very somber about what he said.

"What!?" protested Tenten, sitting up in reaction to such a suggestion. "Isn't he a person, just like you or me? Would you think of such a thing if it were our son?" Neji was caught of guard by her words, not considering such a thought.

"We're not going to execute him." Motioned Naruto, standing up and stepping closer to the window. "He hasn't committed and crimes or hurt anyone except for their pride."

"Well then, what to do with him?" Naruto looked at Deux for a few moments, a smile slowly creeping upon his face

"I have an idea."

Aura was sitting in the hallway, waiting for her father to finish up his meeting so he can finish the talk that was interrupted. She was deep in though, contemplating the series of events that have happened over past few hours. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the image of that boys face out of her mind. She was so deep in thought, she was surprised by the touch of someone from behind her.

"Aura! Are you okay?!" Aura barely had time to brace herself when Ai charged and embraced her in what seemed like the mother-of all bear hugs. She knew her friend worried about her, but was beginning to feel lightheaded from their hug.

"Feeling…dizzy…"

"OH! Sorry." Apologized Ai, breaking away from her friend, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I was just so worried about you. You ran off without any warning, and then I heard that that rogue ninja attacked you."

"What? Where'd you hear that, I was the one who tracked him down and kicked his ass!" Shouted the young kunoichi, pumping her fists triumphantly in the air.

"Really, but I heard Miss Haruno was the one who defeated the invader."

Aura's proud mood soon soured, hearing the name of her father's 'significant other' caused her broad grin to be quickly replaced by a grimace. "So what if she did, I landed the finishing blow!"

"A slap doesn't count as a finishing blow." Aura knew she was right, but couldn't seem to bring herself to admit it. It was after a few tense seconds that Ai broke the silence with a simple question. "Why don't you like Miss Haruno?"

"It's not that I don't like her, I love her. It's just…It's always been Dad and me. Sure each of us had our moments; him hanging out with his drinking buddies, and me during my 'crisis phase'. Both girls couldn't help but give a small shudder, remembering the explicit and awkward talk that was given to them.

"Hold on, didn't Miss Haruno give you that talk?" Aura couldn't help but blush a little by this comment.

"Yeah, she did, but that is how everything works. If there's something that Dad doesn't know, Sakura always helped out the best she could. That's just how everything is suppose to be, I don't want that to change." Ai finally began to understand what was going on in her best friend's head, how hurt she was when she saw her father and Miss Haruno together. She wrapped her arms around Aura, comforting her as she slowly began to loose herself to her emotions that she kept in check all through the night.

"I know its scary, your afraid that something might go wrong and you'll get caught in the middle. You feel that everything is just fine the way things are, and changing that could upset everything in your life.

"But you have to remember, change is essential for everyone to grow up and learn. If we stay who we are, how do we become stronger and better people?" Aura hated to admit, she was right. Even though Ai was a bit shy and wasn't a very skilled ninja, she was wise beyond her years, a trait she shares with her mother. Aura couldn't help but concede to Ai's argument; everything she said was absolutely true.

"Can I still be a little pissed at my Dad?" Ai gave a small grin.

"By all means, be my guest. Putting what I said aside, your dad shouldn't have kept such a thing a secret from you."

"Did someone call my name?" Ai shrieked when she found that Naruto had been standing behind her when she just commented about him.

"Hey Dad…" said Aura in a rather frustrated monotone.

"Hey Dad…?" Don't you think I should get a little more than that?" She crossed her arms and gave him a look that could strike fear in the hearts of any shinobi. Fortunately, Naruto had experienced the glare many times before from Sakura, so he continued in a casual, carefree style that he is known for. "I know you would be upset with this, but that's no excuse for you to lash out at Sakura. Show her the respect that she deserves." Aura didn't respond to her father's words and continued to glare at him.

"Anyway, I have a surprise for you two." He said in a very cheerful tone, despite the prior events. He signaled the two genin to follow him as he walked down one of the corridors.

"What is it now?"  
"I was hoping to tell you two this news a bit later after everything settled down, but I guess now is as good as a time as ever.  
"You two are going to be on the same team!" Naruto quickly braced himself as both girls squealed and embraced him with a hug of gratitude and thanked him repeatedly. After a few moments, Aura realized something was amiss.

"Wait, hold on…" She said, backing up from her father. "Squads always consist of three-man teams, so who is the third member?"  
"I'm glad you asked." Smiled Naruto, as he grabbed the handle to one of the doors in the corridor. "I would like you to meet your third teammate, Deux!"

Aura felt the life drain out of her as she saw the nin from before, leaning back in his chair, a devilish grin creeping on his face.

"No…Way!" Protested Aura, throwing a mild hissy fit to this revelation.

"But wait, there's more!" Out of the same room walked Sakura, dressed in her combat gear that to the enemy would seem like a defenseless woman, only to be beaten towards an inch of their lives. "Sakura is going to be you Sensei! Isn't that great!"

Both Aura and Ai were both stunned by these back-to-back revelations, the two unable to process the information presented to them.

"Great…my life has reached an all-time low."

This certainly has been a long chapter after a very long hiatus. I would once again like to apologize for such a long wait. I will try to continue with this and my other fanfic, but school is just as tough as it was before. Anyway guys, you know the drill, Read and Review! See you next time.


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